Grandson (musician)
American-Canadian musician
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jordan Edward Benjamin[1][2] (born October 25, 1993),[3] known professionally as Grandson (stylized as grandson),[4] is an American and Canadian singer, songwriter, and rapper. He released his major label debut EP, A Modern Tragedy Vol. 1, on June 15, 2018, and released the follow-up A Modern Tragedy Vol. 2 on February 22, 2019. The initial EP featured the single "Blood // Water", which appeared on several Billboard charts in the United States and Canada. Benjamin's music focuses on modern-day issues that are less recognized by the media and public. On December 4, 2020, he released his debut studio album, Death of an Optimist, and his second album, I Love You, I'm Trying, was released on May 5, 2023. On September 5, 2025, his third album Inertia was released.
October 25, 1993
- Singer
- songwriter
- rapper
Grandson | |
|---|---|
Grandson performing in 2022 | |
| Born | Jordan Edward Benjamin October 25, 1993 Englewood, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2014–present |
| Musical career | |
| Origin | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | |
| Instruments |
|
| Labels |
|
| Website | grandsonmusic |
Early life and education
Benjamin was born in New Jersey, United States. When he was 3 years old, his family moved to a Jewish neighborhood in Toronto, Ontario, where his maternal relatives lived[5][6] (he holds dual citizenship of both countries).[7][8] He is Jewish.[6] He has two sisters.[9] Benjamin grew up largely in the Eglinton West area of Toronto.[7][8][10] He attended Northern Secondary School in Toronto and, after graduation, enrolled in McGill University in Montreal. There, he studied education with the initial goal of becoming a teacher.[8][11] He also spent a great deal of time DJing and playing shows in Montreal while at McGill.[12] After two years, he transferred to Concordia University, another Montreal institution. He studied communications there briefly before dropping out and moving to Los Angeles in 2014 to pursue a music career.[4][8]
Career
Benjamin began releasing music under the pseudonym grandson in late 2015.[10] In 2016, he released several singles that accrued millions of streams, including "Bills", "Things Change", and "Bury Me Face Down".[7][13] In 2017, he was signed to RCA Records, and continued releasing singles, including "Best Friends" and "Kiss Bang".[4][11] He also performed at North by Northeast that year (among other festivals).[10]
In April 2018, it was announced that grandson had signed to the Fueled By Ramen record label.[14] He had also released two new singles, "Blood // Water" and "Thoughts & Prayers", which offered a critique of American gun laws in the wake of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.[7][15] He released his first EP on Fueled by Ramen, A Modern Tragedy Vol. 1, in June 2018.[15][16] That EP also featured the song "6:00" which discussed police brutality.[17] Also in June 2018, grandson was featured on Mike Shinoda's song "Running from My Shadow", taken from his debut album Post Traumatic; the track was released also with an accompanying music video in May 2018.[18]
Throughout 2018, grandson toured with acts like Hobo Johnson, Joywave, Nothing But Thieves,[16][17][19] Smashing Pumpkins,[20] and Young the Giant.[2][21] He also appeared on an episode of Late Night with Seth Meyers in August 2018, performing "Blood // Water".[22]
In February 2019, he released a new single, "Apologize", and announced his second EP, A Modern Tragedy Vol. 2, which was released on February 22, 2019.[8][23] In late May, grandson released a cover of Rage Against the Machine's "Maria", a song featured on the 1999 album The Battle of Los Angeles.[24]
In June 2019, he won the SOCAN Songwriting Prize for his song "Blood // Water",[25] while in September 2019 the singer released A Modern Tragedy Vol. 3, the final installment of the Modern Tragedy trilogy;[26] the record features the lead single "Rock Bottom", which peaked at No. 38 on the Canadian Rock Chart.[27]
On September 23, 2020, Grandson announced on his Facebook page that his debut full-length album Death of an Optimist would be released on December 4, 2020. Death of an Optimist is Grandson's debut album, being his first record to have a heavier tone since the release of the last A Modern Tragedy Vol. 3.
He announced a new album, I Love You, I'm Trying in May 2022, and it was released in May 2023.
In September 2024, it was announced that Grandson would be one of the opening acts for Linkin Park on their From Zero World Tour, their first in 7 years and without former lead singer Chester Bennington following his death.[28]
In a reply to a fan's tweet on Twitter on May 30, 2025, Grandson revealed he was now an independent artist.[29]
On May 30, 2025, Grandson announced his third album, Inertia, teasing it with the tagline "It's Never Enough Rest, Tomorrow Is Approaching", through his independent label, XX Records. The album was released on September 5, 2025.
On October 3, 2026, Grandson will perform at the Power to the People Festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD. The festival, which is being put on by Tom Morello, will also feature performances by Morello, Bruce Springsteen, Foo Fighters and many others. The festival is being held in response to President Donald Trump.[30]
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| US Heat. [31] | ||
| Death of an Optimist |
|
7 |
| I Love You, I'm Trying |
|
— |
| Inertia |
|
— |
EPs
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| US Heat. [31] | ||
| A Modern Tragedy Vol. 1 |
|
— |
| Broken Down Vol. 1 |
|
— |
| A Modern Tragedy Vol. 2 |
|
23 |
| No Apologies Live |
|
— |
| A Modern Tragedy Vol. 3 |
|
— |
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN AC [32] |
CAN Rock [33] |
CZ [34] |
LTU [35] |
US Alt [36] |
US Main [37] |
US Rock [38] | ||||
| "Bills" | 2016 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Things Change" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Bury Me Face Down" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Kiss Bang" | 2017 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Best Friends" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "War" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Blood // Water" | — | 19 | — | 93 | 20 | 17 | 19 | A Modern Tragedy Vol. 1 | ||
| "Overdose" | 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Thoughts & Prayers" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||
| "Apologize" | 2019 | — | 5 | — | — | 34 | 20 | —[A] |
|
A Modern Tragedy Vol. 2 |
| "Maria" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Rock Sound Presents: Worship And Tributes Vol. 2 | ||
| "Despicable" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | A Modern Tragedy Vol. 1 | ||
| "Rock Bottom" | — | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | A Modern Tragedy Vol. 3 | ||
| "Oh No!!!" (original or with Vic Mensa & Masked Wolf) |
— | — | — | — | —[B] | — | —[C] | |||
| "Happy Pill" (with Moby Rich) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||
| "Peaches (Text Voter XX to 40649)" (with K.Flay) | 2020 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Text Voter XX to 40649 Collection | |
| "Whole Lotta (Text Voter XX to 40649)" (with DREAMERS) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "How Bout Now (Text Voter XX to 40649)" (with phem) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Again (Text Voter XX to 40649)" (with Zero 9:36) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Identity" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Death of an Optimist | ||
| "Riptide" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Dirty" | 50 | 6 | — | — | 10 | — | —[D] |
| ||
| "One Step Closer" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Spotify Singles | ||
| "We Did It!!!" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Death of an Optimist | ||
| "Zen" (with X Ambassadors and K.Flay) |
— | 9 | 48 | — | 24 | — | —[E] | Non-album single | ||
| "Rain" (with Jessie Reyez) |
2021 | — | 31 | — | — | 26 | — | 49 | The Suicide Squad (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) | |
| "Drop Dead" (with Kesha and Travis Barker) |
— | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||
| "Kult" (with Steve Aoki featuring Jasiah) |
2022 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Eulogy" | 2023 | — | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | I Love You, I'm Trying | |
| "Drones" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Something To Hide" | — | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "One Last Dance" (with Tom Morello featuring Roman Morello) | 2024 | — | — | — | — | — | 34 | — | Venom: The Last Dance | |
| "Brainrot" | 2025 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Inertia | |
| "Self Immolation" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "God Is An Animal" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Autonomous Delivery Robot" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||
As featured artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Alt [36] | |||
| "Running from My Shadow" (Mike Shinoda featuring Grandson) |
2018 | — | Post Traumatic |
| "All in My Head" (Whethan featuring Grandson) |
2020 | — | Fantasy |
| "Heat Seeker" (DREAMERS featuring Grandson) |
28 | Palm Reader | |
| "Lost Cause" (KennyHoopla featuring Grandson) |
— | Non-album singles | |
| "Cash Machine (Remix)" (Oliver Tree featuring Dillon Francis and Grandson) |
— | ||
| "Hold the Line" (Tom Morello featuring Grandson) |
2021 | — | The Atlas Underground Fire |
| "Until I Come Home" (Two Feet featuring Grandson) |
— | Shape & Form | |
| "Good Mood" (DE'WAYNE featuring Grandson) |
2022 | — | Non-album singles |
| "Choke" (The Warning featuring Grandson & Zero 9:36) |
— | ||
| "—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||
Music videos
| Title | Year | Director(s) |
|---|---|---|
| "Bills" | 2017 | Joe Cappa |
| "Blood // Water" | 2018 | Miggy & Morgan |
| "6:00" | Gus Black | |
| "Apologize" | 2019 | Jordan Wozy & Lucas Taggart |
| "Stigmata" | Rosco Guerrero | |
| "Rock Bottom" | Seth Michael Stern | |
| "Oh No!!!" | Galileo | |
| "Identity" | 2020 | Karl Jungquist |
| "Riptide" | ||
| "Dirty" | ||
| "Rain" (From The Suicide Squad) | 2021 | ~ |
| "Drop Dead" (ft. Kesha and Travis Barker) | Andrew Sandler | |
| "Eulogy" | 2023 | Zach Madden |
| "Drones" | Zachary Bailey | |
| "Half My Heart" | ~ | |
| "Brainrot" | 2025 | Joe Weil |
| "Self Immolation" | ||
| "God Is An Animal" | ||
| "Autonomous Delivery Robot" | ||
| "Masters Of War" | ~ | |
| "Little White Lies" | 2026 | ~ |
Notes
- "Apologize" did not enter the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, but peaked at number 49 on the Rock & Alternative Airplay chart.[47]
- "Oh No!!!" did not enter the Alternative Airplay chart, but peaked at number 15 on the Alternative Digital Song Sales chart.[48]
- "Oh No!!!" did not enter the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, but peaked at number 22 on the Rock Digital Song Sales chart.[49]
- The solo version of "Drop Dead" is included as an album track on Death of an Optimist, while the remix featuring Kesha and Travis Barker isn't.
Tours
Headlining
Supporting
- The Glorious Sons - Young Beauties and Fools Tour (2017)[54]
- Hobo Johnson - 2018 Summer Tour[55]
- Nothing but Thieves - Broken Machine World Tour (2018)[56]
- Imagine Dragons - Mercury World Tour (2022)[52]
- Avril Lavigne - Bite Me Tour (2022)[52]
- Linkin Park - From Zero World Tour (2025)[57]
